Journeys with a business coach: Betty Bhandari
In this new series, we dive into the journeys of some incredible creatives who are using Nick Church Photography business coaching to unleash the potential of their businesses
Before I started my own photography and coaching business I had a career in the software industry, and it had gone pretty well.
It culminated in running an analytics and video encryption business based in San Diego with teams in UK and India, but prior to that I worked in various organisations from small start-ups to established international companies.
Along the way I invented and patented designs for the software running in your TV, managed part of a new broadcast streaming platform for Alan Sugar and, way back, helped create some of the first video call devices, 20 years before Zoom took over the planet!
Why does my background matter?
This matters for a couple of reasons:
Firstly, it means that through this previous career I’ve acquired a valuable set of transferrable skills. I am not just talking the talk, I came to business coaching with a proven track record of growing, building, and marketing a wide variety of different businesses to success. I understand how a small business successfully engages with its audience and how to ensure that the business is one of the small number that succeed.
In my experience, even small businesses that may be doing well, are often not performing to their full potential and I have that knowledge to take those businesses to new heights.
Also, maybe more importantly for some, I created and grew my photography company to success from my first wedding in 2016 to 50 wedding in 2018 (which is when I gave up the day job). I did this around the same constraints of time, family, growing skillset and finances that many of my clients have.
In my coaching sessions, which run at my COVID-secure training workshop and photography studio near Bristol or via Zoom, I share the experience, techniques, knowledge and skills I used to create my own successful business. I am really proud to that since Nick Church Photography Education started running our technical and business workshops I have watched all my clients’ businesses really take off and start to achieve their true potential.
You can read details of the business coaching modules here.
In a future posts I will be talking to a variety of clients. Coming soon is someone who like me, decided to pick up a camera, and move into photography from another field. Through my technical training in photography, and business sessions on workflows and marketing, he is now booking his own weddings just a few months later.
This article though is focussed on another client, Betty Bhandari.
Betty Bhandari - Wedding & Portrait Photographer
Betty was already an established wedding photographer, but she came to me with a feeling that her business was not where it deserved to be (I absolutely agreed, she is very talented), and that she would LOVE to love it all again… this was the perfect starting point. So let’s look at Betty’s journey with me and Nick Church Photography Education.
Identifying the potential & building on what’s already there
“ Over the last couple of years I’d known my business was probably underachieving but I really believed that it had potential. My frustration led to a sense of general unhappiness, I felt I was aimlessly floating rather than actively steering. I had tried alone to make decisions about the direction I wanted to go in, but without real success, so that’s when I decided to try again with the help of a coach.”
People that run their own businesses are naturally capable and entrepreneurial and sometimes feel they won't benefit from coaching. But often, it's when work is going pretty well that it can be profitable to work alongside a coach. By identifying and building on successes, and streamlining other areas you can take your business to the next level.
“Working with a coach was even better than I hoped and that was a big and pleasant surprise. I obtained a sense of clarity, I was introduced to tools that I could apply straight away and I developed my understanding of concepts I already had a basic grasp of. Nick treated me and my business with respect and saw great potential where I struggled to find it.”
Working with Betty is a great process, we quickly uncovered that she is driven by a passion for human interactions of her clients, and not just those at weddings. As a creative herself, she is fascinated to get under the skin of her subjects and so portraiture, alongside her amazing weddings, is the vehicle that would allow her to do that. She loves to capture creatives in their ‘element’, in the places that inspire those individuals doing what they love, we just needed to create a pathway for that to flourish.
Seeing Betty thrive in this area is wonderful and it is totally why I love doing this job as well as my own photography. The portraits she is taking have upped not just one gear, but many. Really impressive work!
Image by Betty Bhandari
Image by Betty Bhandari
Image by Betty Bhandari
A sensible, risk-free investment for the future of your business
Image by Betty Bhandari
I would not be doing my job properly and (certainly would not enjoy it this much) unless I knew the benefits from coaching would pay for itself many times over, and last forever!
Business coaching is good value and a great investment. Other professional services, accountants for example, will often explain that the time and money they save you, will be much higher value than the fee they charge. The same is true of business coaching. Clients of my marketing workshops see an immediate upturn in bookings, which pays for their investment in training many times over.
“People do worry about unnecessary expenditure, but what price do you put against success and fulfilment? You need to ask yourself what you want, investment and advancement, or savings and stagnation?
I now feel totally conformable saying no to uninspiring work, I don’t want to waste precious time on dull jobs just because they are an easy income stream. I put effort into finding fulfilling work and the jobs that allow me to work with the people I’m truly interested in.
Because my passion is obvious to my clients, their recommendations and testimonials have led to more opportunities. It’s like a domino effect.”
I always provide a free consultation Zoom call or meeting at my studio. This will give us chance to get to know each other, and for you to get confidence in the process and the results you will achieve before we start, all without spending a penny. You can book a zoom call online, so just click here.
What is my approach?
As a coach, I want to work in partnership with you and will always act as a critical friend. I am not and don't want to be a remote trainer reading from a template set of notes. I'll remain present and available, and I'm happy to take an ad-hoc call if we need to revisit certain areas from our last formal session – it's all included in the price!
This flexible way of working gives my clients the peace of mind that if they haven't absorbed everything immediately they we can jump on a zoom call and run through any clarifications.
“You can’t gain clarity without opening yourself and being open to constructive suggestions. If you can’t be honest with yourself, then the coaching will be a waste of time and just not for you.
Sure you have to pick the right coach too – and I did! Never have I not felt safe in my coaching sessions, never did I not trust my coach.”
The modules are designed to fit areas that clients commonly need, or we can cover a new topic
“It was really important to me that Nick didn’t just offer a one size fits all formula. He really listened and then customized what he offered me in line with my specific requests.”
My modular system allows you to pick and choose the areas that will give you the best return on investment. I also tailor sessions to suit your specific business. This is driven by my analysis of your work and of your style of learning as an individual.
I am very happy for you to help steer the direction we take too. So if I feel a session on website optimisation would be useful, but in fact you are happy with your SEO, let’s use the time to focus on a different area.
You can view more details, content and pricing of the coaching sessions here.
New ventures, or planned growth
Coaching isn't just for startups. Lots of established businesses drift of course over time. Taking a step back and working with a coach can be really enlightening. It can help you to see things clearly and more objectively for the first time in years.
You'll often find that your initial goals are not the things you want to achieve now. You may have completely different aspirations and may not be sure how to achieve them and this redirection can take a while to sink in.
“I realised that not everything I heard and learnt in the coaching session would get implemented immediately. I needed to sit and brew for a bit, before I was mentally ready to implement the next steps.”
Lots of my clients share that they had an initial reluctance to seek coaching but all of them go on to say how much they wished they'd done it earlier.
“I think there’s a stigma that coaching is only for those with a certain level of success. I disagree, a coach is for anyone who wants to achieve something more from their life, having a coach to guide and direct them means they’ll get there more quickly.
I feel entirely different about my business. I’m excited every minute of every day. I am now doing exactly the type of work I want, in the most efficient and profitable way possible.
Thank you Nick.”
Let’s get started…
Remember, I offer a FREE consultation for new clients. After this call you see how the sessions will work, and you will have a feel for a great things we will be able to achieve together. And if you decide not to proceed with any sessions, that’s fine too and you will have lost nothing, it’s still nice to chat.
If you would like more information or have a couple of questions before we chat, that’s not problem, just contact me any time. If you want to go ahead and book a zoom chat (or come to the studio) then please follow this link to the booking system.